1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio communication system including a radio communication apparatus and a reader/writer, a reader/writer apparatus, a key managing method, and a computer program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various cards having a settlement function, such as credit cards, cash cards, and prepaid cards to give a purchaser points in accordance with a purchased amount, are widely available in these days. The type of these cards may be a magnetic card, a contact IC (integrated circuit) card, or a noncontact IC card.
Among these types, the noncontact IC card is significant in its technological advance. The noncontact IC card is excellent in that security can be ensured and that data can be processed in short time, and thus is widely used as a radio communication apparatus capable of performing radio communication in an entrance/exit system in transportation or an in/out system in an office or the like.
Typically, a radio communication system using the radio communication apparatus includes a radio communication apparatus such as a noncontact IC card and a reader/writer (R/W) capable of reading/writing data from/on a memory provided in the radio communication apparatus.
The reader/writer connects to an information processing apparatus, such as a personal computer (PC), so as to communicate with the radio communication apparatus (transmit/receive data) on behalf of the PC that cannot directly communicate with a noncontact IC card.
Recently, demand for using a plurality of services, such as electronic settlement and in/out recording in an office, with one radio communication apparatus or noncontact IC card has been increasing. Accordingly, the capacity of a storage unit (e.g., memory) provided in a radio communication apparatus such as a noncontact IC card has become large.
On the other hand, a plurality of types of radio communication apparatuses having different interface standards, such as different security algorithms or different command systems, have emerged. For example, in noncontact IC cards, there exist two types (Type A and Type B) of proximity noncontact IC cards in ISO/IEC 14443. In this case, different noncontact IC cards are used and different readers/writers are used according to the respective types.
As a solution for the above-described problem, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-264921) discloses the following technique. That is, a module capable of executing processes of command systems corresponding to noncontact IC cards of different interface standards is provided in a controller apparatus, so that the controller apparatus communicates with a reader/writer by using a command that is independent of a type of noncontact IC card.